Uni will enter service Sunday, Sept 11

We’re working right now to put the Uni into service for the first time on Sunday, September 11 at the New Amsterdam Market. The market is on the site of the former Fulton Fish Market on the East River in Lower Manhattan.

We’re still fabricating at MIT this week, but we think we’ll have a sufficient number of cubes completed and a good start on the book collection such that we can create a small reading room for residents, children, and others on that day. The time frame is tight, and some cubes will be deployed empty, but it feels right to get this underway. No ribbon cutting or ceremony—instead, we’re inviting people to drop by the market and donate one or two children’s picture books, which librarians will shelve in the Uni right then and there.

Thank you to Robert LaValva, founder of the New Amsterdam Market, for giving us this opportunity. We love the way the market harkens back to an era of bustling street commerce on the East River. And we love how it lets us glimpse a future for Lower Manhattan where the first week of September is simple once again: clear weather, fresh vegetables, and, if we have anything to do with it, finding a book. We can’t think of a place we more want to be. See you downtown. More details here.